Yishai Eisenberg is First Non-Israeli in 20 Years to Win International Bible Competition
On April 16, Yishai Eisenberg, a freshman at the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy / Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), became the first non-Israeli in 20 years to win the Chidon HaTanakh, Israel’s annual International Bible Competition for high school students. Eisenberg, of Passiac, NJ, dominated the competition from the outset, becoming the first champion in its 50-year run to share the winner’s circle when he finished the final round tied with Elior Babian of Beit Shemesh.
Rabbi Shai Peron, minister of education; Yishai Eisenberg; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; and Elior Babian.
An illustration of the country’s desire to connect Jewish independence to Jewish values, the annual contest took place on Yom Ha’atzmaut at The Jerusalem Theater, under the auspices of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Education Minister Rabbi Shai Piron. Read the rest of this entry…
Yeshiva University Commemorates the Life and Legacy of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik
On April 14, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) commemorated the 20th yahrtzeit [anniversary of death] of “the Rav,” Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l, Torah luminary and YU Rosh Yeshiva, with a full-day learning program that took place in the Lamport Auditorium on YU’s Wilf Campus. Thousands attended in-person or followed the event online to gain insight into the Rav’s life and legacy through lectures, discussions and presentations given by his family and closest students.
“I experience a sense of déjà vu standing in this room today, for in this very room we waited with baited breath for the Rav to enter and deliver his famous shiurim on his father’s yahrtzeit each year,” said Rabbi Joel Schreiber, Chairman of the RIETS Board of Trustees, in his opening remarks to the participants. “In this room thousands of men and women had their hearts, minds and souls lifted to unimaginable heights by the Rav.”
The program kicked off with “Multiple Faces of the Rav,” a panel that brought together Rabbi Soloveitchik’s daughter, Dr. Atarah Twersky, and several students of the Rav, including Rabbi Herschel Schachter, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva; Dr. David Shatz, YU professor of philosophy; and Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of the CJF, to examine the many and varied roles played by the Rav during his lifetime. Read the rest of this entry…
Over $400 Million Raised to Date, Including Largest Gift in the College of Medicine’s History
Addressing an enthusiastic gathering of more than 400 supporters, alumni and faculty on Monday, April 15, Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, publicly announced the College of Medicine’s largest fundraising effort—a capital campaign to raise at least $500 million, known as “The Campaign to Transform Einstein.”
Scholarship to Aid HANC Graduates Attend Yeshiva University
A new, need-based scholarship has been created, allocated specifically to Hebrew Academy of Nassau County (HANC) graduates who are applying to Yeshiva University, in the amount of $80,500. The scholarship fortifies the relationship between HANC and Yeshiva, which is of vital importance to the gift donors, Beryl and Doreen Eckstein.
“The gift is significant because it follows a new model that represents a three-way partnership involving the donor acting as bridge between a local high school and Yeshiva University,” said Ari Rockoff, director at the Department of Community Partnership’s Center for Jewish Future (CJF) Read the rest of this entry…
Four Generations Commemorate the Memory of the Holocaust at Yeshiva University Yom HaShoah Ceremony
Four generations of Holocaust survivors and their descendants took the podium at Yeshiva University’s Yom Hashoah commemoration ceremony on Monday, April 8, at a packed Lamport Auditorium on the Wilf Campus. The theme of the ceremony, organized by YU’s Student Holocaust Education Movement (SHEM), was “The Lost Generations.”
The ceremony highlighted Jewry’s imperative to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive as the generation of Holocaust survivors passes and new generations arise. The program began with a haunting recitation of victims’ names, accompanied by a medley of mournful Jewish melodies, performed on the violin by Yeshiva College Professor Yair Shahak.
“The legacy [of the victims] must never become just another number,” said Jacob Bernstein ’15YC, president of SHEM. Read the rest of this entry…
Rabbi Hyman and Ann Arbesfeld, Rabbi Hershel Schachter, and Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler to be Honored at May 1 Gala
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), an affiliate of Yeshiva University, will honor dedicated leaders and educators of the Jewish community at its Annual Gala Evening of Tribute on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at The Grand Hyatt in New York City. Honorees include Rabbi Hyman (Hy) and Ann Arbesfeld, Etz Chaim Award; Rabbi Hershel Schachter, Guest of Honor; and Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler, Distinguished Rabbinic Leadership Award.
“I have always believed that RIETS is the heart and soul of Yeshiva University,” said Joel Schreiber, chairman of the RIETS Board of Trustees. “It is blessed with the finest Roshei Yeshiva that have produced outstanding scholars of Torah and Jewish thought. For over 100 years it has embodied the philosophy of Torah Umadda and has been at the forefront of Modern Orthodoxy in America and beyond. This year, we are privileged to honor leaders in Torah, chesed and service to community.” Read the rest of this entry…
Sy Syms School of Business Awarded Prestigious Accreditation
Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Businesshas earned accreditation by AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.
“AACSB congratulates Yeshiva University and Dean Moses Pava on earning accreditation and we welcome them into the family of AACSB-accredited business schools,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “AACSB accreditation represents the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. Dean Pava and the faculty, directors and staff of Yeshiva University are to be commended for their role in earning accreditation.” Read the rest of this entry…
Yeshiva University Commemorates 20th Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik with Day of Learning
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Rabbinical Theological Seminary (RIETS) and Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) will commemorate the 20th yahrtzeit [anniversary of death] of “the Rav,” Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt”l, Torah luminary and YU Rosh Yeshiva with a full-day learning program for all audiences on Sunday, April 14 on YU’s Wilf Campus, 500 West 185th Street, New York City. The program will run from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and will include lectures, discussions and presentations on the Rav’s life and legacy.
YU will commemorate the Rav’s 20th yahrtzeit with a day of learning on April 14.
“Over the course of almost half a century, Rabbi Soloveitchik served as a mentor and role model for tens of thousands of Jews around the word and ordained close to 2,000 rabbis. Through his landmark public lectures and writings he became, and remains, well-known for his unparalleled Talmudic scholarship and religious leadership,” said Marvin Bienenfeld, a member of the RIETS Board of Trustees and the chair of the event. Read the rest of this entry…
Eruvin Exhibition and Lecture Add Context and Insight to Daf Yomi Study
What purpose do eruvin [ritual enclosures] serve? Where can they be constructed? What makes them kosher?
As Jews around the world delve into the subject of eruvin for daf yomi, the daily cycle of Talmud study, Yeshiva University and the Orthodox Union sought to shed light on an ancient practice that is still very relevant to Jewish life today. An evening of programming on March 13 fused the historical, cultural and practical dimensions of eruvin showcased in a new Yeshiva University Museum exhibition with rich halakhic grounding provided by RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter. A leading halakhic authority, Schachter delivered a shiur [lecture] titled, “Eruvin: The Streets, the Strings and the Shabbat.”
“Seeing the issues faced by Manhattan and other Jewish communities in completing an eruv—when a train track goes up and when it goes down, is the sea wall kosher or not—and hearing from such a wide range of people who struggled to bring klal Yisroel out of their homes on Shabbat takes Torah learning to a unique and different level,” said Edward Stelzer ’90YC, a member of the YU Museum’s board of directors. “Many of us don’t have an opportunity to check an eruv on any given Friday, but this museum has the power to help us internalize the issues of eruvin and experience them almost firsthand by bringing the topic home to us in an immersive, powerful way.” Read the rest of this entry…
Yeshiva College Associate Dean’s Visit to Israel will Strengthen YU-Bar-Ilan Connection
Dr. Raji Viswanathan, associate dean of academic affairs and professor of chemistry at Yeshiva University’s Yeshiva College, was recently selected as a Fulbright Specialist. The competitive position will enable her to create new opportunities for collaboration between YU and Israel’s Bar-Ilan University as well as share her own research in computational chemistry with an advanced cadre of Israeli scholars.
Dr. Raji Viswanathan
The Fulbright Specialist program promotes linkage between American academic and professionals and their counterparts at host institutions overseas. Project activities focus on strengthening and supporting the developmental needs of host institutions abroad and can include short-term lecturing, conducting seminars, teacher training and special conferences of workshops, as well as collaborating on curriculum planning or institutional and faculty development. Each application is peer-reviewed.
“My goal is to initiate faculty and student exchange,” said Viswanathan. “We already have some connection with BIU through our summer science research program, which places talented undergraduates from Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women in one of the state-of-the-art research laboratories of BIU’s life science, exact science or engineering faculties.” Read the rest of this entry…
